Door latch



Dec. 22, 1925- 1,566,321

P. FRANTZ noon LATCH I Filed Sept. 5. 1922 iiiiii iiiiiiiiiiii ff Patented Dec. 22, 1925.

PETER FRANTZ, OF STERLING,

ILLINOIS, ASSIGN OR TO FRANTZ MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF STERLING, ILLINOIS, CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

DOOR LATCH.

Application filed September 5, 1922. Serial No. 586,129.'

I '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER FRANTZ, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Sterling, Whiteside County, Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Door Latches, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to latches-or looking devices for doors or windows or other things of a similar nature.

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved con struction whereby a reciprocating locking bolt, or other suitable ,locking device or latch, is operatively connected to a handle by which the door or wind-ow is opened and closed, or to a point adjacent said handle, so that the bolt or other locking device may be operated by the samehand which will grasp the handle.

Another object is to provide an improved construction and arrangement whereby a door or window is provided with a handle for opening and closing the door .or window,

in combination with a locking bolt or latching device located at a point remote there from, and with means adjacent said, handle to control the said locking bolt or latching device, so that the latter may be operated by the same hand which must grasp the handle in opening and closing the door or window.

It is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction tending to increase the general efiiciency and the desirability of a door or window handle and locking device controlling meansof this particular character.

To the foregoing and other useful ends the invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawings in which,

' Figure 1 is a front elevation of a door 7 provided with locking means embodying the principles of the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged front elevation of the locking means shown in Figure 1,with certain portions thereof shown broken away for convenience of illustration;

Figure 3 is a vertical section on line 33 in Figure 2. I V

Figure 4 is a horizontal section on line 14: in F igure'2.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the thumbpiece of device is controlled.

As thus illustrated, the invention comprises a handle or grip 1 secured by screws 2 at the upper and. lower ends thereof to the door 3 in position to be grasped by the hand in opening and closing the door. The upper portion of this handle is bent outwardly at {1 and is provided with ya slot 5 therein, and the thumb piece 6 is inserted outwardly throughthis slot, the transverse rear nd portion 7 of this thumb-piece holding the latter in place and forming a sort the chain pullby which the locking H of pivot therefor; A sheet metal bolt housing 8 is secured to the door at the upper edge thereof, by screws 9, and this housing contains a tubular bolt 10'to which is connected a flat strip 11 which extends downwardly in the opening 12 in the lower end of the housing. A coil spring 13 is interposed between the lower end of the locking bolt and the bottom of the housing, so that this spring is compressed when the bolt is pulled downward. For this purpose a chain .14 connects the lower end of the strip 11 with the thumb-piece 6 previously mentioned, wherebythis thumb-piece is held normally in raised position by said spring. The upper end of said locking bolt is rounded at 15, and when the door is closed this rounded portion strikes the sheet metal strike piece 16 which is secured tothe door frame at a I point above the door by the screws 18 in position to receive the projecting upper end portion of the bolt when the door is fully closed. When it is desired to open the door, the handle 1 is grasped and the thumb of the same hand is placed on the thumb-piece '6 and pressure on the latter in a downward direction'will cause the chain 14 to pull on the'strips 11 and thereby'pull the bolt 10 downward out of the strike piece 16 previously mentioned.

From the foregoing it will be seen that means are associated with a handle to control a bolt or locking device, so that the locking device is under control of the hand which must grasp the handle, and the arrangement is such that the locking device may be located at a point remote from the handle. It is obvious, of course, that the dilierent elements can be arranged in any suitable or desired manner, depending upon the character of the door or window or other closure to which the devices are applied.

It will be seen that the handle member 1 is separately mounted and is adapted to be placed at any desired distance from the lock ing bolt, so that the door may be of any desired size or height, and the chain 1 1 will be of any suitable length, depending upon the distance between the handle and the locking bolt. The thumb-piece ('3, however, is disposed immediately over the handle grip, being carried by the handle member, and is operable by the thumb in the natural position of the hand while the handle grip is actually in the grasp of such hand.

It will be seen that the screws 2 serve as means for rigidly securing the handle memher 1 to the door or other closure, so that this handle does not constitute any means whatever for operating the latch or locking device. To the contrary, the thumb-piece 6 constitutes the sole means for manually operating the lock or latch, through the medium of the chain 14 or other depending connection. Furthermore, the thumb-piece 6, by reason of the spring 13 or other suitable means, is held normally in raised position above the rigid handle. Therefore, of course, the door automatically latches when it closes, as shown and described.

What 1 claim as my invention is- 1. In locking means for a door or window or other closure, the combination of a handle member having a hand grip, means whereby said member is rigidly secured to said closure, a reciprocating locking bolt mounted or said closure a distance from and independently or said handle, depending upon the size of the door and the consequent distance between the convenient position for the handle and the eltective position for the locking bolt, means to be engaged by said bolt to lock the closure in closed position, and a connection extending the distance from said locking bolt to a point of control adjacent said handle member, so that said locking bolt is controllable by the thumb of the hand grasping the handle to open the in the act of door,

o. A structure as specified in claim 1, said connection comprising a thumb-piece disposed immediately above the handle grip and carried by said member and means extending upward from said thumb-piece to said locking bolt, and whereby downward F inserted outwardly through said slot, with.

means on the inner end of said thumb-piece to hold it in place and form a pivotal axis about which the outer end of the thumbpiece is movable up and down above the handle grip.

1n locking means for doors or windows or the like, the combination of a handle member having a hand grip for opening and closing the door or window or other closure, adapted to be grasped with the thumb uppermost, when the locking means are installed vertically, locking means therefor, a thumb-piece immediately above the handle grip, means whereby the thumbpiece is mounted to move up and down, adapted to be depressed by pressure of the thumb downward toward the upper portion of said handle, and a connection between said thumb-piece and said locking means, there being spring means to keep said thumb-piece normally raised above the handle.

6. In locking means for a door or window or other closure, the combination of a handle member having a grip and secured to the closure, a reciprocating locking bolt mounted on said closure, means to be engaged by said bolt to lock the closure in closed position, and a connection extending from said locking bolt to a point adjacent said handle member, whereby said locking bolt is controllable by the same hand which must grasp said handle to open the door, said connection comprising a thumb-piece disposed immediately above the handle grip and carried by said member and means extending upward from said thumb-piece to said locking bolt, and whereby downward movement of said thumb-piece serves to unlock the door formed by said closure.

7. In locking means for a door or window or other closure, the combination of a handle member having a grip and secured to the closure, a reciprocating locking bolt mounted on said closure, means to be engaged by said bolt to lock the closure in closed position, and a connection extending from said locking bolt to a point adjacent said handle member, whereby said locking bolt is controllable by the same hand which must grasp said handle to open the door, said handle member having an outwardly bent upper portion formed with a slot therein, said conoutwardly through said slot, With means on the inner end of said thumb-piece to hold it in place and form a pivotal axis about which the outer end of the thumb-piece is movable up and down above the handle grip.

8. A structure as specified in claim 1, including provisions whereby the locking means automatically latches when the closure is moved into closed position, serving to 10 normally hold said connection in operable position.

9. A structure as specified in claim 5, said locking means having provisions for automatically latching the door When in closed 15.

position, serving to normally maintain said thumb-piece in operable position.

b PETER FRANTZ. 

